Advice on what to do? Feeling bored with current puzzles.

[lelandbug]

Hi all,

Hopefully this is in the right place (one of my first posts)... I'm getting kind of bored, I need some recommendations on what avenues of puzzling to explore, fun algs to play around with, etc.

I do the 3x3x3, average time about a minute with cross/corners/edges for F2L, then two-step orientation and the 14 Fridrich PLLs. I suppose I need to learn to experiment with some other methods rather than just keep solving it the same way over and over again, any ideas?

4x4x4 and 5x5x5 I use standard reduction and can do in 6 min and 10 min. avg. respectively. Megaminx about seven minutes.

I have a square-1, I've pretty much got it down how to make square, but apart from that I have to use algs to solve, are there any fun square-1 methods out there that are intuitive? Bandage cube I've gotten up to two layers finished, but the last one frustrates me

so yeah.. any advice? and also, what do you think of v-cubes, anybody who has them.

Leland.

 

[cookingfat]

why not try blindfold?

 

[lelandbug]

Blindfolded cubing scares me a little...

But you know, maybe if I tried it on the 2x2 I could do it... thx, I'll look it up.

 

[Ellis]

Don't let blindfold solving intimidate you. It's really rewarding and fun, and its not that hard if you sit down and work it at. Plus if you already know your PLL's you've already got what you need to learn a full method.

 

[Zaxef]

Try getting faster on bigger cubes?
Your 3x3 time is faster than mine yet my 5x5 time is nearly half of yours :x

 

[EmersonHerrmann]

Hi all,

Hopefully this is in the right place (one of my first posts)... I'm getting kind of bored, I need some recommendations on what avenues of puzzling to explore, fun algs to play around with, etc.

I do the 3x3x3, average time about a minute with cross/corners/edges for F2L, then two-step orientation and the 14 Fridrich PLLs. I suppose I need to learn to experiment with some other methods rather than just keep solving it the same way over and over again, any ideas?

4x4x4 and 5x5x5 I use standard reduction and can do in 6 min and 10 min. avg. respectively. Megaminx about seven minutes.

I have a square-1, I've pretty much got it down how to make square, but apart from that I have to use algs to solve, are there any fun square-1 methods out there that are intuitive? Bandage cube I've gotten up to two layers finished, but the last one frustrates me

so yeah.. any advice? and also, what do you think of v-cubes, anybody who has them.

Leland.

Learn the rest of square-1...get sub-minute on 3x3, get sub-50 on 3x3, learn the rest of the PLLs, get sub-40, get sub-30, learn all the OLLs, get sub-20, get sub-15, 14, 13, 12, and 11, get sub-6 minutes on 4x4, get down to sub-3, sub-2, and sub-1. Get sub-10 minutes on 5x5, down sub-5, down to sub-3, etc...there are MANY MANY MANY MANY MANY possibilities for you right now. Just practice, and if you're bored, practice OH, BLD, or someother stuff.

You really have a lot of options.

 

[TMOY]

Trying to experiment with other methods can be a good idea. Don't feel compelled to use Fridrich or reduction or whatever because they are the mainstream methods and people told you they were fast, if you get bored you will never go fast anyway. Just try to have fun and your times will drop.

 

[bundat]

with cross/corners/edges for F2L

Try intuitive F2L.
It was incredibly fun for me when I was starting out... after a very long time, I felt like I was actually solving a puzzle while playing the rubik's, in contrast to the repetitive feeling of drilling algs.

I guess the same can be said for block building methods (Petrus, Roux, ZZ?), but the thing about F2L is I had a "cheat sheet" (a list of F2L algs that I could refer to and analyze when I couldn't figure a case out )

 

[byu]

Try out blindfold cubing. Don't worry, when I started, I never thought I could do it, but it was only a week before I had successfully solved a cube blindfolded.

 

[AvGalen]

Try "match the scramble"
Try scramble with RU-moves only, solve with RU-moves only
Try scramble with RUL-moves only, solve with RUL-moves only
Try scramble with RrU-moves only, solve with RrU-moves only
Try scramble with RrUu-moves only, solve with RrUu-moves only
Try Fewest Moves
Try scrambling/solving other puzzles, like Magic
Try to find a girl/boy that you like, who likes you and who would like to be able to do all those magical puzzle thingies you can do

 

[nitrocan]

Try not cubing for a week and you'll see that you aren't bored at all.

 

[JohnnyA]

Try "match the scramble"
Try scramble with RU-moves only, solve with RU-moves only
Try scramble with RUL-moves only, solve with RUL-moves only
Try scramble with RrU-moves only, solve with RrU-moves only
Try scramble with RrUu-moves only, solve with RrUu-moves only
Try Fewest Moves
Try scrambling/solving other puzzles, like Magic
Try to find a girl/boy that you like, who likes you and who would like to be able to do all those magical puzzle thingies you can do

Wow, I love the RrUu scrambles! Fun for a break.

 

[nitrocan]

Try "match the scramble"
Try scramble with RU-moves only, solve with RU-moves only
Try scramble with RUL-moves only, solve with RUL-moves only
Try scramble with RrU-moves only, solve with RrU-moves only
Try scramble with RrUu-moves only, solve with RrUu-moves only
Try Fewest Moves
Try scrambling/solving other puzzles, like Magic
Try to find a girl/boy that you like, who likes you and who would like to be able to do all those magical puzzle thingies you can do

Wow, I love the RrUu scrambles! Fun for a break.

Or you can try a siamese cube.

 

[JTW2007]

I totally recommend BLD. Other than that...

Pyraminx? Megaminx? Skewb? Fisher cube? Pyramorphix? Magic? Super Sq-1? I'm running out.

 

[JLarsen]

I wouldn't be cubing today had I not discovered Petrus =]. I had a boredum spell, and I needed something new, and Petrus did that for me. I love it.

 

[Ethan Rosen]

http://users.skynet.be/gelatinbrain/Applets/Magic Polyhedra/index.htm

have fun

 

[JTW2007]

Gasp!

 

[lelandbug]

Thanks guys... I think I'll take a shot at blindfolded, I guess.

Holy cow, those polyhedra things are crazy... Wish there was a real-life Gigaminx

 

[AvGalen]

Thanks guys... I think I'll take a shot at blindfolded, I guess.

Holy cow, those polyhedra things are crazy... Wish there was a real-life Gigaminx

There are several, but not many and not cheap